Dreamweaver is designed to be extensible. It includes a JavaScript interpreter, so it can read and execute JavaScript code, and it provides an application programming interface (API), a large set of JavaScript functions that allow developers to extend the capabilities of Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver also provides a Document Object Model (DOM), which allows extensions to examine and modify a document's structure and contents.
Using the JavaScript API, you can create objects, behavior actions, commands, Property inspectors, floating palettes, and data translators (all of which are collectively called extensions).
You can also create new objects and new simple commands without knowing anything about programming; see Changing the Object palette and Creating new commands from history steps for details. But for more advanced purposes, to add capabilities to Dreamweaver you must write extensions, either in JavaScript or in C. For information about the DOM and the API, see Extending Dreamweaver.
JavaScript is an interpreted programming language. To learn more about JavaScript, read a good JavaScript book, such as JavaScript Bible by Danny Goodman (IDG) or JavaScript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan (O'Reilly). For information on extending Dreamweaver using JavaScript, see Extending Dreamweaver.
Note: Despite the resemblance between the two names, JavaScript is not related to Java in any way.
All the commands in Dreamweaver menus, including those you create and save using the History palette (see Creating new commands from history steps), are implemented in JavaScript. This JavaScript code usually consists mostly of calls to functions provided by the Dreamweaver extensibility API. If you know JavaScript and understand the Dreamweaver extensibility API, you can edit the JavaScript to change the operation of Dreamweaver commands.
Note: Don't attempt to change any JavaScript code unless you're certain you know what you're doing.
To rename a command, move a command to a different menu, or add a keyboard shortcut to a command, see Customizing Dreamweaver menus.